1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a stand for farriers, veterinarians, horse or pet owners, pet groomers, marksmen or “shooters”, and/or other people who need a portable, stable support device. More particularly, the stand may be used for supporting, for example, a horse's hoof during shoeing or other maintenance, a dog's head during grooming, or a gun during shooting practice or hunting, so that the supported object may be held steady, manipulated easily, and/or controlled in a safe and careful manner.
2. Related Art
Most farriers physically support a horse's leg during shoeing operations by holding the horse's leg between their own legs, with the horse leg coming through the farrier's legs from the farrier's backside. This is a precarious, sometimes dangerous position, and always a physically-demanding position. First, the farrier must remove the old horseshoe. Then, the hoof must be trimmed and filed. Next, the new shoe must be fitted to the hoof profile and nailed in place. Finally, the nails are clinched and the anterior profile of the hoof is filed and shaped. All of these operations are best performed with the hoof supported at an elevation above ground level.
Blackburn (U.S. Pat. No. 89,379) discloses a rest for shoeing horses with a thick base and a hinged, v-shaped member upon which the horse hoof rests. The arms of the v-shaped member extend vertically upward, and one of the arms is hinged to pivot to the side when the weight of the hoof is placed on the v-shaped member. The Blackburn device includes an incremental ratchet adjustment to raise and lower the v-shaped member relative to the base.
Coffey (U.S. Pat. No. 286,389) discloses a horse shoeing stand having a flat base with three legs, a pastern-rest, and a toe-rest carried by a lever having a ratchet brace engaging the upright of the stand to raise and lower the toe-rest.
Ilieff (U.S. Pat. No. 1,330,807) discloses a horseshoeing jack that has a substantially flat and rectangular base adapted to be bolted of otherwise fixed to the floor, a rectangular standard mounted to the base, and a rectangular lifting standard that is raised by a lever. Ilieff provides various leg or foot supporting attachments with straps, the straps being adapted to encircle the animal's limb to secure the limb in the supporting attachments.
Beaston (U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,216) discloses a Multiple Stand To Aid Shoeing Horses that teaches a two-position, tripod-type stand having a pair of alternating upright members disposed at a right angle with respect to one another. A pair of opposing legs are connected to the vertex joint of the uprights, each at a slightly obtuse angle with respect to both uprights. In one position, one upright extends vertically upward while the second upright acts as the third leg of the tripod. In the second position, the second upright extends vertically upward while the first upright acts as the third leg of the tripod. A hard hoof cradle is attached to the distal end of one of the uprights and a flat plate is attached to the distal end of the other upright. The cradle holds the hoof in an elevated generally horizontal position to provide access to the bottom of the hoof, while the flat plate provides an elevated platform to support the bottom of the hoof to provide convenient access to the anterior of the hoof. An optional upright with an anvil attachment can be removably substituted for either of the other two uprights.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,216 has disadvantages. First, the length of the uprights are not adjustable to accommodate the necessary difference in working height between front and back hooves of a single horse, nor to accommodate different-sized horses. Second, the hoof cradle construction does not provide any concussion absorption and is prone to the hoof dislodging from the cradle. Thirdly, the legs and horizontally extending upright (effectively a leg) pose a hazard both to the farrier and to the horse.
Zito (U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,061) discloses a Farrier Squeeze Trailer that includes an adjustable foot stand, which features a padded leg clamp that may be opened by pivoting its two semi-circular parts in opposite directions on a pivot. A strap and buckle are located at the top of the clamp to connect the two semi-circular parts to secure the horses leg within the clamp. The clamp and its strap and buckle system entirely surround and capture the leg.
The inventor believes that prior art devices would tend to move or make noise in a manner that would upset or frighten the animal. Horses are usually nervous, easily-frightened animals that respond instinctively to noises and unfamiliar or uncomfortable movements according to the well-known “fear-flight” behavior. The inventor believes that prior art devices, which include incremental raising or lowering the upright using a ratchet system, would tend to cause uneven and jerky motion and metallic sounds. The inventor also believes that pivoting/flexing arms or other moving parts would upset/frightened the animal, especially if the pivoting/flexing occurs in response to the weight of the animal's foot and if it causes the stand to “clamp” the foot/hoof. Further, the inventor believes that the prior art devices would not adequately absorb and dissipate energy from nailing or other work on a horse hoof or on other objects supported in the stand.
What is needed is a safe stand that securely and quietly holds a hoof in a generally horizontal position. What is still needed is a stand that is less intimidating and stressful to both horses and users, and that is light-weight, convenient, comfortable, quiet, and that absorbs the shock and concussion of the work being done on the hoof. What is needed is stand that may be used for many purposes, including horse and other animal care, gun aiming and shooting, and/or other work or recreation.